Slow Russian customs officials kill over 4,000 rare, exotic fish.

From Gadling, courtesy of JenK.

Slow Russian customs officials accidentally killed over 4000 tropical fish when they failed to clear a cargo shipment in a timely manner.

The shipment weighed in at 18 tons, and was scheduled for delivery to the new Sochi Discovery World aquarium, the largest in the country.

The shipment cost just under half a million Dollars, and had been sent from China. The head of the aquarium went on record to day that the loss was an "atrocity unseen anywhere else in the world".

Temperatures in the black sea resort of Sochi were in the 80's, and even though tropical fish enjoy warmer waters, the hot sun warmed things up too much for the fish to survive. You'll be hearing a lot more of Sochi in coming years, as they are hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics.